The daily COVID-19 count in India remained below the one-lakh mark for the fifth consecutive day with the country reporting 84,332 fresh cases, its lowest in 70 days, according to data updated by the Union Health Ministry on Saturday.
With the fresh cases, the infection tally has climbed to 2,93,59,155. The COVID-19 death toll climbed to 3,67,081 with 4,002 daily deaths, the data updated at 8 am showed.
The number of active cases further declined to 10,80,690, accounting for 3.68 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 95.07 per cent.
India's active caseload declined to less than 11 lakh after 63 days while 84,332 new cases reported in 24 hours are the lowest in 70 days, the ministry said.
Also, 20,44,131 coronavirus tests were conducted on Friday taking the total number to 37,42,42,384.
The daily positivity rate was recorded at 4.39 per cent. It has been less than 10 per cent for the 19th consecutive day, the ministry said, adding the weekly positivity rate has also declined to 4.94 per cent.
Recoveries continue to outnumber daily new cases for the 30th consecutive day. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 2,79,11,384, while the case fatality rate has increased to 1.25 per cent, the data stated.
Cumulatively, 24,96,00,304 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered so far under the nationwide vaccination drive.
India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7; 30 lakh on August 23; 40 lakh on September 5; and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28; 70 lakh on October 11; 80 lakh on October 29; 90 lakh on November 20; and the one-crore mark on December 19. India crossed the grim milestone of 2 crore cases on May 4.
The 4,002 new fatalities include 2,619 from Maharashtra, 378 from Tamil Nadu, 173 from Kerala and 159 from Karnataka.
A total of 3,67,081 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 1,06,367 from Maharashtra, 32,644 from Karnataka, 28,906 from Tamil Nadu, 24,772 from Delhi, 21,667 from Uttar Pradesh, 16,731 from West Bengal, 15,435 from Punjab and 13,300 from Chhattisgarh.
The ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.
"Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research," the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.
